Despite plenty of hard work and, at times, an upper hand in the physical collisions department, Team Austria couldn’t find any way to gain a grip on Germany’s combination of skillful puck possession and strong board work over 60 minutes of play. The women from the Alpine Republic also couldn’t figure out a way to get any rubber past Germany’s star goaltender Sandra Abstreiter, who made 18 saves in leading Germany to the 2-0 shutout victory.
With that, host Germany ends the first day of the IIHF Group I Women’s Ice Hockey Final Olympic Qualification tournament in Bremerhaven tied with Hungary atop the table.
Taking place in front of 1360 attendees, the game kicked off with both teams somewhat feeling each other out before Germany began pushing things offensively, taking a heavy lead in shots with 14-5 throughout the first frame. This was also due in part to Austria taking three penalties and needing to maneuver through the waters of shorthanded life while staving off the favored Germans, something that would take its toll.
It wasn’t until the 4th minute of play in the second period when German forward Celine Haider was able to punch in the rebound after defender Tabea Botthof rifled a shot in from the right point. This got things going for a German attack that continued to have the upper hand in controlling the flow of the game. When Austria did mount some pressure, it was often by pouncing on the odd error or miscue, forcing Abstreiter to maintain her focus with a sharp save despite droughts in action along the way.
Things remained close as the period carried on until Hamburg-born forward Emily Nix pulled the puck off the boards in the 37th minute of play and charged to the net, using a Nicola Hadraschek pick to gain a better position in the slot before unleashing a monster of a backhand shot into the far, upper corner, leaving Austrian goaltender Selma Luggin stunned and helpless in the process.
Try as they might, the Austrians were hard-pressed to mount any true pressure in the 3rd period, only racking up 5 shots along the way, several of which came once Luggin was pulled for the extra skater in the final two minutes of play. Germany had come out of the gate ready to close the door and even put up another 10 shots while keeping the puck on their sticks for longer stretches of the period.
Once the buzzer rang, the team stormed the ice with relief to celebrate the 2-0 victory, one that clearly meant a bit more after Austria had surprisingly defeated Germany 3-0 in the Olympic qualifier just four years prior.
But at this point, Germany will now have to start routing for their neighbor to the south.
The first game of the event saw favorite Hungary spend over half the game warding off a determined Slovakian team, which even had an 8-7 advantage in shots after the first period. Things got even hotter when captain Janka Hlinkova got Slovakia on the board in the 32nd minute of play. Unfortunately for the Slovaks, young-star Nela Lopusanova took a penalty for an illegal hit just 8 seconds later and Hungary was able to capitalize on the powerplay thanks to an Alexandra Huszak shot, one of her 6 on the day.
It took a very curious goal in the 44th minute of play in the third period to give Hungary a lead they’d never relinquish. After Andrea Risianova stopped a hard shot, a rebound attempt by Kinga Jokai-Szilagyi popped up high over Risianova and then dropped back down behind her and into the goal. It was a bit of a backbreaker, but Hungary wasn’t complaining.
After that, the Slovak women went to work but couldn’t get anything to budge. With their goaltender pulled in the last minute of play, Hungarian captain Fanni Gasparics was able to slide in an empty-net tally to seal the deal.
With the 3-1 victory, Hungary now technically sees itself at the top of the standings with the most goals scored and the same differential as Germany.
Friday will serve as a day of rest and then action will continue on Saturday when Germany faces Slovakia and Hungary takes on Austria. Should Germany and Hungary each be victorious, then Sunday evening’s final game pitting the two will be all-decisive.
We’ll see what Saturday brings.